Rotary fluid cooled flame head for flame hardening machine



5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTO Oct. 18, 1960 R. s. EAsLEY ROTARY FLUID COOLED FLAME HEAD FOR FLAME HARDENING MACHINEr Filed April 2l, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 18, 1960 R. s. EAsLEY ROTARY FLUID COOLED FLAME HEAD FOR FLAME HARDENING MACHINE Filed April 21, 1958 l K Sw \m\ mm MQQQUQQ l LZQQQOQ Zommoo Zwwxk SQ INV IMQ mm -M.M\ U\k w m V kuQQOb o( E.; c c: L b M bulbo@ www um, m, w E P. u wm mw Nw, m NN. um. Q Jn.. llv-mllmm wlmi@ mnmlnnhm TTORNEYS.

R. S. EASLEY focf. 181, 1960 ROTARY FLUID COOLED FLAME HEAD FOR FLAME HARDENING MACHINE Filed April 21, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

RAL PH S. E'ISLEY.

TTORNEYS.

high quantity production machine.

United States Patent O ROTARY FLUID COOLED FLAME HEAD FOR FLAME HARDENING MACHINE Filed Apr. 21, 1958, Ser. No. 729,964 1 Claim. (Cl. 26,6-4)

This invention relates to flame hardening machines and more particularly to one having a rotary fluid cooled flame head.

In many applications it is `desired that a part have at least av portion of its surface hardened to resist wear. One of the methods to produce a hardened surface is with a flame hardening machine in which the surface it is desired to harden is exposed to a flame from a torch, or flame head. Such a machine, which is capable of hardening a particular type of part in quantity production, is sho'wn in U.S. Patent 2,555,517, issued to David M. Strauchen and Milton Garvin on June 5, 1951. In many machines of this type a part, such as a gear, is rotated to expose its periphery to the flame from a fixed flame head or ame heads. When the part is adapted for rotation to expose the desired surface to a stationary fiame, relatively little difiiculty is encountered in supplying fuel and coolant to the flamehead because it is fixed.

However, in many applications the conformation of the part to lbe surface hardened makes it awkward to rotate the part, or the surface to be hardened may be difiicult to expose to the fiame head as lthe part is rotated. In these instances, if surface hardening can be accomplished at all by rotating the part past a fixed flame head, it can only be accomplished by the use of a relatively complicated and expensive fixture to rotate the part.

For these applications, then, it is desirable to have a flame head which can be rotated. Not only is it necessary to provide the rotating ame head with a steady supply of fuel, b-ut it is also desirable to provide means for effectively cooling the flame head, particularly in a The most effective means of cooling the flame head is with a liquid coolant, `and it and the fuel must be supplied to the rotary arne head so that leakage between them `is avoided and in a manner not to interfere with the rotation of the flame head.

It is, therefore, a general object of the present invention to provide in a flame hardening machine a rotary fluid cooled liame head.

It is another object of the present invention to provide in a flame hardening machine a rotary iiuid cooled flame head which is compact and without external conduits leading thereto.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide -a simple effective, fluid cooled rotary flame head, of simple construction, in which leakage between the fuel supply and coolant is avoided.

In the present invention a fiame head, which has a fuel passage and a coolant passage, is carried by an axle which denes at least two separate passages, sealed from each other, through which the fuel and the coolant, respectively, are conveyed to the flame head. In the pre- `ferred embodiment of the present invention the axle comprises three concentric, spaced apart conduits which define three separate passages. The flamefhead is roice tatably received on the inner conduit and snugly receives the outer two conduits, the outer one of which is clamped in a rotating spindle to rotate the flame head. The space between the two outer conduits defines a fuel passage in the axle and, since there is no sliding fit between the flame head and these conduits, a tight sealing fit may be effected therebetween to connect the axle fuel passage with the fuel passage in the flame head. vThe inner conduit, and the space between the inner conduit and the intermediate conduit, define coolant passages which are connected to the ends of the coolant passage in the flame head for the circulation of coolant therethrough.

The outer conduit of the axle passes through the rotating spindle and terminates at a fitting which is connected to the source of fuel. The two inner conduits pass through this fitting and extend to a second fitting. The intermediate conduit terminates at the second fitting, which has a coolant discharge outlet, thus connecting one of the axle coolant passages to discharge. The inner conduit extends into this fitting for connection to the source of coolant, thus connecting the other coolant passage in the axle to said source.

Thus, a compact rotary flame head is provided through which a coolant may be circulated and in which the coolant and fuel are supplied thereto in separate passages contained within the axle of the flame head. No external conduits interfere with rotation of the ame head. Moreover, the dificult problem of supplying both fuel and coolant to a rotating fiame head is solved, in the present invention, by a simple construction which effectively prevents leakage between the fuel and coolant passages.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention should be readily apparent by reference to the following specification, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, and it is to be understood that any modications may be made in the exact structural details there shown and described, within the scope of the appended claim, without departing from or exceeding the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevational view of a flame hardening machine constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the housing of the machine of Fig. 1, with parts broken away to show the spindle assembly of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a fron-t elevational view of the flame head;

Fig. 4 is a view through section 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view through section 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a view through section 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a side elevational View in cross section of the fuel and coolant fittings; and

Fig. 8 is a schematic `diagram of the machine of Fig. l showing the flow of fuel and coolant to the flame head thereof.

In Fig. 1 there is shown a flame hardening machine 15 having a base 16 and an upstanding housing .17. In the base there is a quench tank 18 into which parts may be dropped through an opening (not shown) in the top of the base after heating. The housing 17 contains a yspindle assembly 19 (see Fig. 2) through which passes an axle 22 which extends through the front of the housing above the quench tank. A fixture 23 seats on thebase 16 o-n one side of the opening above the quench tank and supports a workpiece 24. The workpiece shown, for illustrative purposes, is an internal ring gear, the teeth of which are to be hardened, and it is supported by the fixture 23 to receive a flame head therein.

As shown in Fig. 2, the fiame head 21 is carried on the end of the axle 22. The axle 22 consists of three concentric spaced apart conduits 30, 31, and 32. The space between the outer conduit 30 and the intermediate conduit 31 defines an annular gas passage 33. The space between the intermediate conduit 31 and the inner conduit 32 denes an annular coolant discharge passage 34. The interior of the inner conduit 32 defines a coolant supply passage 35. The axle 22 extends through the spindle assembly 19 with the outer conduit 30 clamped therein for rotation therewith. The outer conduit 30 terminates at gas fitting 36 While the intermediate conduit 31 and the inner conduit 32 pass therethrough. Gas from a source is transmitted through fitting 36 to the passage 33. The intermediate conduit 31 and the inner conduit 32 terminate at water tting 37 through which water from passage 34 is discharged from outlet 38 and water from a source is supplied through inlet 39 to passage 35.

The llame head 21 is shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, and consists of front portion 41, a central portion 42, and a rear portion 43. The front portion has la recess 44 in its rear face which receives the front hub 45 of the central portion 42. The portion 42 also has a rear hub 46 which is received in a recess 47 in the front face of the rear portion 43. Studs 56 are soldered into circumferentially spaced holes 57 in the rear face of front portion 41 and are threaded at their outer ends. These studs extend through holes 58 and 59 in the central and rear portions, respectively, of the flame head `and nuts 56a are threadedly received on the studs to hold the portions of the flame head together. Gaskets 140 and 141 are interposed between the respective portions of the ame head.

The ame head 21 has three internal chambers 49, 50, and 51. The chamber 49 is defined by bore 52 lying on a central axis A of the iiame head, about which axis the ame head rotates. T he bore 52 terminates inside the front portion 41 of the ame head close to the front face thereof and rotatably receives therein the inner conduit 32 of axle 22. Since the conduit 32 terminates in the bore 52. the passage 35 defined thereby is in communication with the chamber 49 and water is supplied therethrough to that chamber. The inner conduit 32 passes through a connecting bore 53, also on the central axis of the llame head, which extends from the bore 52 through the central portion 42, `and defines with that bore the annular coolant chamber 50 rearward of the chamber 49. The bore 53 has an enlarged portion in which is snugly received and soldered the conduit 31 which terminates at chamber 50. Thus, the annular water discharge passage 34 defined by the conduits 31 and 32 is in communication with the chamber 50. It will be noted that in view of the sliding fit of conduit 32 in the bore 52 there is some leakage between chambers 49 and 50. However, since both these chambers are water chambers this does not impair the effective operation of the ame head and, in fact, is effective to lubricate the rotating conduit 32 in bore 52. The outer conduit 30 is snugly `received and soldered in a bore 54 in the rear portion 43 of the ame head which is tapered at its forward end. This bore lies on the central axis A of the ame head and connects with the bore 53. The intermediate conduit 31 passes through bore 54 and defines with that bore the annular gas chamber 51. This chamber is thus in communication with the gas supply passage 33 defined by outer conduit 30 and intermediate conduit 31. It will be noted that the conduits 30 and 31 are tightly connected to the liame head 21 and therefore chamber l will be effectively sealed from chamber 50 to prevent leakage of water into the gas chamber.

The front portion 41 of the ame head 21 has adjacent the front face water passages 60 which communicate with water chamber 49 and extend radially outward therefrom. These passages 60 are angularly spaced around the llame head. The passages 60 communicate with water passages 61 extending rearwardly adjacent the periphery of the front portion 41 of the llame head. These passages communicate with water passages 62 at a point adjacent the rear face of the front portion 41. These latter passages slope toward the center of the front portion `41 from the rear face thereof as they extend radially inwardly to connect to water chamber 50. The passages 60, 61, and 62 are defined by bores which are drilled from the surfaces of the front portion 41 and which are blocked by plugs 63 at the surfaces thereof. Plugs 63 may be removed for cleaning of the passages.

Thus, water can circulate through the flame head 21 from the water supply passage 35 of axle 22 through the chamber 49, through passage 60, passage 61, and passage 62 to the chamber 50, and thence to the water discharge passage 34 of axle 22.

The front portion y41 of the flame head 21 also has flame ports 64 each defined by a plurality of small radial passages 65 drilled in the periphery of portion 41 (see Fig. 6). The fiame ports are angularly spaced around the portion 41 between the coolant passages 61. The passages 65 communicate with rearwardly extending fuel passages 66 adjacent the periphery of the portion 41 which connect with radial fuel passages 67 adjacent the rear face of front portion 41. These latter passages extend radially inward and connect with rearwardly extending fuel passages 68, passing through the central portion 42 of the flame head 21, `and connecting to the annular gas chamber 51. Thus, gas is supplied from the gas supply passage 33 of axle 22 to the chamber 51, passage 68, passage 67, passage 66, and passages 65 of amc port 64.

The axle 22 extends through the spindle assembly 19. The spindle assembly has two barrels 70 which straddle a hydraulic cylinder 71 connected to a base 69 in housing 17. The barrels 70 are slidably received on rods 72 supported between blocks 72a in spaced relation to the base 69 and extending in a direction parallel to the axis of the spindle axle and ame head. The piston rod 71a of the hydraulic cylinder 71 is connected to the spindle assembly by arm 71b to move the spindle assem bly longitudinally, or axially, within the housing, and thereby move the flame head 21 axially in relation to the workpiece.

The spindle assembly 19 consists of spindle casing 73 which is connected to and supported by the barrels 70, a motor 74 carried by the casing 73, and a spindle 75 rotatably carried within the spindle casing by ball bearings 82 and 82a and extending from the spindle casing at each end. The spindle is operatively connected to the motor 74 by gear 76 carried on the spindle outside the spindle casing, the gear 77 carried on the motor shaft, and the drive chain 78. The axle 22 extends through the spindle 75 and is held in non'rotatable relation thereto by the collars 79 and 83. The collar 79 is received within the spindle 75 at the front face thereof and is held therein by set screw 80. The axle 22 is clamped in the collar by set screws 80a. The collar 83 is received within the spindle 75 at the rear face thereof and is held therein by set screw 84 carried in a ring 84a encircling the spindle. The axle 22 is clamped in the collar by set screws 84h. The housing 17 has a heat shield 142 connected to its front face t0 which is connected a nose, shown generally at 143, into which the spindle 75 extends.

As shown best in Fig. 7, the outer conduit 30 terminates at the gas fitting 36. The gas fitting 36 has a housing 86 with a forward portion 86a and a Smaller rear portion 86b. A rotatable sleeve 88 is received in the forward portion 86a of the housing and rotatably carried therein by ball bearings 89. The sleeve 88 extends `from the forward end of the housing 86 and has a threaded portion outside the housing which receives the coupling 88a, which, in turn, threadedly receives the conduit 30. The rear portion 86h of the housing is sealed from the front portion 86a thereof by a sealing member 90. The sealing member 90y comprises a carbon ring 96 sandwiched between the rotatable sleeve 8S and a non-rotatable flanged sleeve 91. An O ring 92 is sandwiched between `the housing and the sleeve 91 'and is held in a groove in the housing by annular disc 93 which is locked in the housing by locking ring 94. The sleeve 91 is kept from rotation by engagement of the flange thereof with the disc 93 by the pins 95.

The conduit 31 passes through the sleeve 8S in spaced relation to the Walls thereof and a passage 103 is defined therebetween. The rear portion 86h of housing 86 and the conduit 31 passing therethrough define an annular gas chamber 104 which is in communication with the gas passage 33 defined by the outer conduit 30 and the intermediate conduit 31. The chamber 104 is thereby sealed from the two passages 33 and 34 within the conduit 31. The rear portion 86b of housing 86 has a gas inlet port 105 in communication with chamber 104, and the port -is connected by conduit 106 to a source of gas. Thus, gas is supplied to the gas supply passage 33 through conduit 106, chamber 104, and passage 103 into passage 33.

The water fitting 37 has housing 110 with a forward portion 110a and a rear portion 110b. The forward portion ln of fitting 37 has a stud portion 101 which is threadedly received in an opening in the rear wall of the rear portion 86b of the gas tting 36. A bearing 102, which preferably is made of a plastic laminate material such as Formica and does not require lubrication, is snugly received in the stud 101. The bearing 102 rotatably receives conduit 31 which extends through the tting 36. The conduit 31 extends into the rear portion 110b of the fitting 37 and terminates therein. The rear portion 110b of tting 37 is sealed by a sealing member 112 from the stud portion 101 of the fitting. The member 112 consists of a ceramic ring 113 snugly received in rubber cap 114 and embedded in the forward portion of fitting 37. A carbon ring 115 is firmly held on the rotating conduit 31 by a ring 116 and rubber gasket 117. The carbon ring 115 is urged against the ceramic block by spring 118, the opposite end of which is held by collar 119 clamped to conduit 31.

The rear portion 110b of housing 110 has a water inlet or supply port 120 in the rear wall of the housing and a Water outlet or discharge port 121. The inner conduit 32, which is carried inside the conduit 31, extends beyond the end of conduit 31 through the housing 110 and connects to the supply port 120. The conduit 32 and the rear portion 110b of housing 110 define an annular water chamber 122 which is eEectively sealed from the water supply passage 35 Within conduit 32 and from the gas chamber 104 in fitting 36. At the same time cham ber 122 is in communication with the Water discharge passage 34 defined by inner conduit 32 and intermediate conduit 31. The outlet port 121, which is in communication with chamber 122, connects to conduit 123 leading to discharge. Thus water is supplied to supply passage 35 within the inner conduit 32 and water from the water discharge passage 34 is passed to discharge.

A schematic diagram of the system of the present invention ,is shown in Fig. 8. Fuel, which may, for example, be a gas comprising a mixture of oxygen and a combustible gas, such as acetylene, propane, or natural gas, is supplied from a mixer 125 defining a source therefor through conduit 106 to gas tting 36. Mixer 125 is supplied with oxygen from source 150 through conduit 151, the flow therethrough being controlled by valve 152, and ris supplied with combustible gas from source 153 through conduit 154, the flow being controlled by valve 155. From the tting 36 gas is supplied through passage 33 to the flame head. Coolant, which preferably is water, is supplied from a source 127 through conduit 128 to water inlet port 120, and its ow is controlled by valve 129. Water thus flows in passage 35 through tting 37 to the llame head, through the ame head, and through passage 34 to the chamber of fitting 37 and discharge through conduit 123. The motor 74 which rotates the spindle, and hence the llame head, is energized through switch 133 from a source 130. The cylinder 71, which moves the spindle axially, is operated by the control of compressed air from source 131 by valve 132.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the water, after cooling the flame head, is carried therefrom and discharged through the water fitting 37. It will be understood, however, that the water may be discharged any time after it has cooled the llame head and, in fact, may be discharged from the ame head and also utilized to quench the workpiece.

In operation, a workpiece, such as the ring gear 24, the inner surface of which is to be surface hardened, is inserted in the fixture 23 which holds the workpiece in registration with the ame head 21. Water is circulated through the llame head by opening valve 129. The combustible gas is turned on by valve 155, and immediately thereafter, the oxygen valve 152 and the gas mixture is ignited at the llame ports on the flame head. Ihe motor 74 is energized by closing switch 133 to rotate the ame head, and the spindle is moved axially by operating valve 132 to bring the rotating flame head within the workpiece where it rotates to heat the inner surface thereof. Thereafter, the flame head is retracted by operation of valve 132, the workpiece is removed from the fixture and dropped into the quench tank 18, and a new workpiece is inserted in the fixture.

What is claimed is:

In a ame hardening machine: a flame head having three concentric connecting bores of successively diminishing size; an axle comprising an outer conduit having one end tightly received in the largest bore, an intermediate conduit within the outer conduit having one end tightly received in the intermediate bore, the intermediate conduit spaced from the outer conduit to dene a fuel passage therebetween, and an inner conduit Within the intermediate conduit having one end loosely received in the smallest bore, the inner conduit spaced from the intermediate conduit to dene a coolant discharge passage therebetween; flame ports in the flame head in communication with the fuel passage in the axle; a coolant passage through the flame head having one end in communication with the inner conduit of the axle and having the other end in communication with the coolant discharge passage in the axle; a first fitting at the other end of the outer conduit having a fuel port in communication with the fuel passage in the axle, the outer and intermediate conduits rotatable relative to said first fitting and said intermediate and inner conduits extending through said first fitting; a second fitting at the other end of the intermediate conduit having a coolant discharge port in communication with the coolant discharge passage in the axle, the intermediate conduit rotatable relative to said second fitting and the inner conduit extending through the second fitting; a fuel supply conduit connected to said fuel port; a coolant discharge conduit connected to said coolant discharge port; a coolant supply conduit connected to said inner conduit; means to rotate the outer conduit; and means to shift the outer conduit axially.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,247,494 Hartley July 1, 1941 2,273,809 Kinzel Feb. 17, 1942 2,321,645 Bishop et al. ...i June l5, 1943 2,480,287 Crowe Aug. 30, 1949 2,482,945 Smith Sept. 27, 1949 2,801,098 Plumb July 30, 1957 

